Antec Signature 850W PSU

Cables and Connectors

Cables connected to the PSU include:

• One 55cm 20+4-pin ATX cable
  
• One 55cm 8-pin EPS 12V power cable
  
• One 55cm 4-pin EPS 12V power cable
  
• Two 55cm 6+2-pin PCI-Express power cables
  
• One peripheral cable with Molex connectors at 55cm, 70cm, 95cm and a floppy connector at 105cm.
  
• One peripheral cable with SATA connectors at 55cm, 70cm and 95cm.

Modular cables include:

• Two 55cm 6-pin PCI-Express power cables
  
• Two peripheral cables with Molex connectors at 55cm, 70cm and 95cm.
  
• Two peripheral cables with SATA connectors at 55cm, 70cm and 95cm.

I really like the idea that Antec has tried here with the braid ends but unfortunately it's a poor execution and it looks like it has a lymph node infection. I just want to send it to the doctor for antibiotics and possibly a biopsy. Technically speaking they are excellent - they perfectly seal the braid and cables without compressing it, they resist movement and they're unique unlike the usual heatshrinking everyone else uses. On the plus side the braiding diameter fits appropriately over the cables within and is of high quality, however there are several centimetres of cable protruding from the ends and the small 15cm gaps between connectors makes them look quite silly.

We'd have preferred the 4-pin EPS 12V power connector to either be a modular or an additional 4+4-pin for workstation boards as most people these days require the 8-pin only, especially for an 850W, and those wanting two for dual CPU workstations and servers will likely want two 8-pins as well.


The four PCI-Express connectors allow for quad CrossFireX, as well as standard two GPU SLI, including the latest GeForce GTX 280 but not 3-way SLI, although Nvidia only certifies that for PSUs upwards of 1,000W anyway. The 6+2-pin connectors have a proper +2 ground wires which is better than what most other companies offer, although Antec uses slightly thinner and cheaper 18 AWG wire, unlike the thicker and lower resistance 16 AWG that some others use (the Akasa 1000W PowerMax for example). In fact, after checking none of the cables use any larger than standard 18 AWG wire which is a shame.

In addition, the Molex connectors don't include the push-release plastic bits, but at least all the connectors are a matching black and the SATA connectors are at 90 degrees.